


Everybody's Fool

by Pearl_Unplanned



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angry Steve, Angst with a Happy Ending, Big misunderstandings, Established Relationship, Established Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Hurt Tony, Insecure Tony, M/M, Mentioned Clint/Bucky, Misunderstandings, Other minor character(s) - Freeform, Protective Steve, The Avengers messed up big time, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wedding, mentioned Bruce/Natasha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 22:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19451080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: The last thing Tony expected when sharing the news of his engagement to Steve with his team, hisfamily, was getting laughed at directly to his face.





	Everybody's Fool

Tony Stark was not a morning person. Everyone knew that. So when he strutted his way down into the kitchen that morning, it should’ve been a sign of something important, something special.

For Tony, he had never felt so good in the morning as when he was heading downstairs to show off his new ring and inform his team of the good news: that soon he’d be going by the name of Tony Stark- _Rogers_.

While it wasn’t something that either of them had talked about, Tony was glad that _Steve_ obviously had thought about it. A _lot_ about it, apparently, based on the fact that the rings he’d had custom-made of _vibranium_ , both smooth and golden in color. They were _perfect_ , and Tony had been spinning his around on his finger all morning.

Steve, poor, sweet Steve, had never seemed as nervous as when he asked Tony to marry him. The inventor hadn’t expected it, but after an incredible day and then a sweet evening with just his man, Tony had been presented with a ring and an adorable declaration of loving him forever. They’d been dating for around three years, so it really shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise, but…

Marriage? It wasn’t something Tony ever thought he’d do. Why get married? Before it was because he was a playboy, and then it was because he was a superhero living a dangerous life. He didn’t have time to date until Steve came around, and then… well, he never thought about marriage. There was always a chance of dying out on the field, but…

But Steve was right. Why _not_ get married? Marriage wasn’t going to save them on the field, it wasn’t going to make a difference whether they lived or died in the next battle. So if they loved each other and wanted to, why _not_ get married?

“Mr. Stark-Rogers,” Tony murmured to himself, fidgeting with the ring again. He never thought that a _ring_ could make him so happy, but no. It wasn’t the ring. It was what the ring _meant_.

Even when he first started dating Steve, he never thought he was someone that the super-soldier would even _consider_ marrying. And now? Now a new energy and excitement ran through his veins, one that he wanted to share with his team, his family.

Steve had mentioned that he hadn’t told anyone yet, so it would definitely be a surprise.

When Tony strutted into the kitchen, he was slightly disappointed that only _one_ of his teammates was actually in the kitchen at the moment. Oh well, he’d just track the rest of them down.

“Hey birdbrain, you’ll never guess what happened,” Tony said once he’d grabbed his coffee. He took a seat at the table and struck a dramatic pose, sticking his left hand out so that his teammate was able to see the ring up close.

For a moment, Clint’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. For just a moment, Tony thought that his friend might actually say _congratulations_ or something nice, despite how much they tease and poke fun at one another. He thought his friend might be _serious_ for once.

Instead of anything congratulatory, Clint broke out in laughter. The archer’s laugh cut through Tony like he’d been struck with an arrow, damaging but not completely breaking that good mood, that joyful excitement.

The happiness in his grin faded, but his teammate didn’t seem to notice as he stood up, still laughing. “That’s a good one, man, you almost got me there. The ring looks great, though, must’ve taken a while to make, huh?”

Tony didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t make the rings, _Steve_ gave him the ring! What kind of reaction was _laughter?_ Was it really such an outrageous thought that someone with his kind of past would one day get married? Or was it the fact that he was getting married to someone as great as Steve that caused the archer to doubt the validity of his future wedding?

“Nice try,” Clint continued, blissfully ignorant to Tony’s declining mood as he patted his teammate’s shoulder and headed out of the room. “You almost convinced me there.”

And then Tony was alone, wondering what the hell just happened.

Was it really so hard to believe that Steve would marry him? Sure, that was one of his biggest fears, back when they first started dating. Tony had been petrified of telling anyone in the world, teammates included, because what if everyone just assumed that Steve deserved better? What if they thought that he was just going to taint Steve with the kind of reputation that he’d built up over the years?

But then, after dating for three months, when they broke the news to the Avengers, Tony had found that the team had been very supportive of their relationship. Sure, there was a lot of teasing for a long time, but it was always friendly teasing, like he was in on the joke… instead of him _being_ the joke.

Yet here he was, getting laughed at, just for mentioning that he was going to marry Steve. Perhaps it was the way that he told Clint? Perhaps he shouldn’t have done it so dramatically? Yeah, that must’ve been it.

Right then, Tony wished that Steve hadn’t gone on his morning run with Sam. If Steve was here, perhaps they wouldn’t be laughing?

Sighing, Tony decided that he’d go tell Bruce about it. His Science Bro wouldn’t laugh in his face for marrying Steve, right? Bruce had been thrilled with his and Steve’s relationship. He’d said so when they worked in the lab together, and whenever Tony asked for advice, Bruce was always the one who he turned to. While not being ‘that kind of doctor,’ Bruce always seemed to have the best advice.

“Hey Brucie-bear, I’ve got something to tell you about,” Tony called, catching the other man before he could get to the elevator.

“You’re up early,” the other scientist commented, looking surprised as he hit the elevator button.

“Yeah, I had to get up bright and early to show this off some,” Tony said, grinning as he held out his left hand, wiggling his ring finger. “Smooth, sleek and just my style, don’t you think?”

Bruce was smiling, and Tony got excited. Yes, he knew that Bruce would be happy for him! Out of anyone on the team, he knew that Bruce would be the one who would actually be happy for him. They’d connected pretty quickly once the Avengers really became a team, and perhaps if things had been different—if he didn’t start dating Steve, and if Bruce was any kind of interested in men—then Tony definitely could’ve seen him and Bruce together. Instead, he just had another best friend, which he was thrilled about.

When some of the other Avengers said that they ‘spoke a different language’ in the lab sometimes, Tony knew it was true. They just connected on another level, and working with Bruce was always incredible.

The ‘congratulations’ never came.

Instead, Bruce’s smile wavered a bit as he tried to hold back a chuckle. “Clint told me that you’d be showing that off. I have to admit, it _is_ really well-made.”

This time, it _really_ stung. Bruce… didn’t think he’d make a good husband either? Did they think that Steve could do better? Of course they must’ve… why else would they be laughing at the thought of Tony getting married? Surely no one was laughing at the fact that he was marrying _Steve_ —that wouldn’t make any sense!

No, they must’ve been laughing at the fact that Steve would marry _him_.

The elevator door opened and Bruce stepped in. “You might want to try something different with the rest of the team, it’ll already have been spread to them by now.”

And then the door closed, leaving Tony to ponder what was so wrong with the thought of someone marrying him. Were they pretending when they first congratulated him and Steve about the fact that they were dating, three years ago? Or did they just think that dating was one thing since it wasn’t technically permanent?

Did they just think it was okay for Steve to date him, as long as it wasn’t something permanent?

What was so wrong with him? 

Tony almost didn’t want to tell anyone else. Clint, sure, that kind of made sense with the way that they joked around. Perhaps he was just joking around right now? But that didn’t explain Bruce’s reaction. That didn’t explain why the one person who _should have_ congratulated him above all else, chose instead to attempt to hold back his laughter as he left.

“Hey J, where are Tasha and Bucky?” Tony asked, taking a deep breath. “Might as well tell them too, unless perhaps Steve already did? No, probably not, not if he went running with Sam early in the morning.

“Both are downstairs in the gym,” his AI supplied helpfully.

Tony sighed.

“Sir, if I may—”

“No J, I’ve gotta tell them too. I can’t just tell half the team,” Tony grumbled, getting in the next elevator. “I mean, they’ve probably heard by now, but I’d rather be the one who tells them even if Barton or Banner has already said something about it. Might as well show off the ring, since _I_ love it.” He smiled, spinning the ring on his finger again. “Steve did such a good job with it. I can tell he put a bit of time and effort into this, even if the team can’t.”

He arrived at the gym way too quickly, and as Tony walked out across the floor, he tried plastering a fake smile on his face and steeling himself for the inevitable reaction of his teammates.

“Stark,” Barnes called in greeting, and he looked like he was already laughing just at the sight of him walking over. Great, Barton or Banner had already told them, and Tony was right to suspect how they might react.

Tony’s grin was large, but it was faker than the ones he used for the media. Maybe he’d convince Steve to move over to Malibu for a while, so they could enjoy some time as fiancés for a while and wait to see if Steve would regret proposing.

God, he hoped not…

…but if the team thought marrying him was a joke, then maybe Steve would see that eventually, too? Tony would rather he see it and break the engagement off _before_ they got married than after.

“I guess you’ve already heard, huh?” Tony asked, not even bothering to hold his left hand out.

“Clint stopped by on his way to get some gym clothes,” Natasha said, nodding. “Everyone’s heard, I’m just surprised that you’re still sharing the same thing. I thought at least you’d try to come up with something new by now.”

Tony stared at her, trying to keep the grin from just completely dropping off his face. They really did think that he was just joking around. What did they think was going to happen when Steve got back to the tower? If this was all just some kind of big _joke_ , wouldn’t it be very clear once Steve got back from his run?

“Well, if you guys already heard, then I don’t need to tell you,” Tony said, turning around as fast as he could to leave.

Were they right? Were they right in thinking that this was all some kind of big joke? Did they think that _Steve_ was joking, when Steve proposed to him last night? _Did_ Steve think of this all as some kind of joke?

Could… could he have mentioned something to Clint before he left, something that caused the archer to laugh instead of congratulate him?

No, Steve loved him. He _had_ to believe that. If he stopped believing that… then this would all completely _break_ him. As long as he had Steve, he wouldn’t be _completely_ broken.

He just… he just needed some time. Some time to think things through, some time away from the team, some time to gather his thoughts. If the team thought his engagement wouldn’t last, if they found it so _amusing_ , was it right for him to still be engaged to Steve? He’d always thought that the super-soldier could do better than him, but that wasn’t something he liked admitting to Steve, since his lover hated hearing stuff like that.

But it was _true_ , wasn’t it?

It was—

“Tony?”

The genius froze when he felt someone grab his arm as he walked past, and he turned around sharply to tell his teammates that he needed some time by himself.

Instead, he came face to face with Steve. He tried a smile, because it was _so nice_ to see Steve right now, but he knew that there was no way for him to hide what he was feeling from his lover. No, Steve was always able to read him like a book.

“What’s wrong, darling?” Steve asked. One of Steve’s hands gripped his hip while the other one cupped his face gently, and Tony leaned into his touch and up for a kiss. It was little things, like the way that Steve touched him, _so gently_ , that made Tony love him even more.

“I love you,” he murmured, but the prying look on his lover’s face was enough to bring the emotions right out of Tony. Tears started welling up in his eyes, and he looked away. “I was showing off the ring this morning, because I thought _hey_ , our team will probably want to know the good news, right? That’s not something I should just hide from them, right?”

“Of course. I told Sam on our run, he promised that he’d stop by sometime to congratulate you, too, but he was thrilled to hear the news,” Steve said, looking so confused about why Tony would be bringing up something like that.

“Well, at least one person thinks we’ll last,” Tony muttered. “So I was telling them, and they—they _laughed_ , Steve! Why would they laugh? Is it because… because who would want to marry _me_ , right? That must be it, because why else would any of them laugh?”

“Laugh?” Steve looked confused, then upset, then _angry_. “You’re sure they weren’t teasing you—they actually laughed? _All of them?_ ”

Tony nodded mutely, pressing his face to the super-soldier’s chest, smiling softly to himself when his fiancé wrapped those strong arms of his around him. He was like a solid wall, keeping everything bad in the world out, whenever he hugged him so tightly…

“This is bullshit,” Steve murmured, surprising Tony when he lifted his chin to give him a passionate kiss before he grabbed his wrist and started leading him back over to the elevator.

“Steve? Where are we going? I was going back to our room, baby, I just need some time to… to be alone—or with you, you being there would be even better,” Tony said nervously, praying that Steve wasn’t about to do what he thought he was.

“No, we’re going to go have a _chat_ with the team,” Steve growled, nearly punching the button to go to the gym. “Buck said he’d be waiting in the gym since he didn’t want to come out on a run this morning, so I was going to meet up with him there. I’m sure at least some of the team’s going to be there, especially since I’ve been trying to make team training mandatory.”

“I was going to skip it and drag you off to bed again sometime today,” Tony mumbled. Yes, he liked training with the team, but he was tired and really didn’t feel like being around the team anymore today. Or maybe for the rest of the week… maybe longer.

“I’m not going to let them laugh, Tony. That’s not fair to you, because you’re one of the greatest things that has _ever_ happened to me, and I don’t want _anyone_ to think that they can laugh at the fact that I’m marrying my better half,” Steve said, pulling Tony into a tight hug. “If you won’t yell at them and tell them off for doing that, then I will. You mean _everything_ to me, and they just…? I don’t get it.”

“Me neither,” Tony admitted sadly. He thought that the team was really like a _family_ , but… maybe not? He really thought he’d gotten past the whole ‘they just keep me around because I fund the Avengers’ thing, but maybe there was more truth to that than he thought.

“Hey,” Steve shouted the moment that the elevator door opened. He grabbed Tony’s hand, nearly dragging him along to where the team was warming up. As it turned out, all four of them were there, though while Clint and Bucky seemed to be sparring, Natasha and Bruce seemed to be either stretching or doing yoga. But all four were there.

The team looked surprised to see Steve _and_ Tony there. “Hey Steve, did you hear—”

Steve let go of Tony’s hand and looked like he was going to punch Bucky, who was approaching up until then. “Why the _fuck_ did you laugh?”

“What?” Bucky looked like a deer in the headlights, confused but _terrified_ , seeing how much anger was seething off of Steve. It was nearly _visible_ with how angry the super-soldier looked.

“Who thought it was a good idea to laugh at my fiancé? Because there is absolutely _nothing_ ‘funny’ about the fact that I am going to be marrying the man that I love as soon as we pick out which date works the best for us,” Steve snapped, glaring at each and every Avenger with a glare that stopped _villains_ in their tracks. Tony was so glad to be spared from that look right now. “If this is how you guys are all going to act, then you can bet that _none_ of you are going to be invited to our wedding, that’s for sure.” A couple of times while Steve snapped at the team, Tony noticed the way that the wide-eyed Avengers tried to interrupt him, casting scared and guilty glances over at Tony. “And you know what? Even though this is Tony’s tower, I might have to ask you all to leave after how badly you treated the love of my life—”

“Wait, Steve, hold on a second,” Bucky said, putting his hands up quickly when the captain turned his attention solely on the other super-soldier. “The engagement wasn’t a joke?”

“Of course it fucking wasn’t,” Steve snarled, glaring daggers at his best friend. “Why would he be joking about something like that? When has Tony _ever_ joked about something like that?”

Clint looked really guilty. “I kinda assumed, based on the holiday…”

“Holiday?” Tony spoke up, confused but still hurt and upset.

“It’s… April 1st,” Bruce said, though his face matched the guilty looks of all the other Avengers. “April Fools Day? I thought you were joking.”

Tony tried to process that. It was April 1st? Was it really? He always lost track of the date, especially after spending a ton of time in the lab, and he’d definitely spent most of the past week in and out of the lab, then an entire day just with Steve and then… April? Already?

So when he told them he was getting married, on _April Fools Day…_ of course they’d think it was a joke.

Tony flinched a little when Clint ran past Steve, though he relaxed as the archer pulled him into a tight hug.

“Congratulations! Fuck, we really messed that up, didn’t we? I should’ve known that you wouldn’t joke around with something like that this morning, but I just thought—this is great news though! It’s about time—I always knew that the two of you would get married one day,” Clint said, patting Tony’s back.

It was only moments later when the rest of the team scurried over to congratulate Tony, and Steve too, but the angry super-soldier was still really upset and he’d pushed Bucky away when his best friend tried getting close to him.

“Guess I should’ve checked the date this morning,” Tony mumbled, feeling like a complete and total idiot. April Fools Day? Of _all days?_

“No, it wasn’t your fault,” Natasha said quickly. “It was ours, we all just assumed. We should’ve known you wouldn’t be joking around about this. And I would definitely understand if you didn’t want to see us around the tower for a little while—”

“No,” Tony gasped quickly. “No, I don’t want you guys to leave.”

That was the _last_ thing that he wanted. If anything, he was going to take some time to leave, but he would _never_ try to chase any of his teammates away. He invited them to the tower to give them a home, and he wasn’t going to just take it away from them—even if it wasn’t all just some big misunderstanding!

“We won’t,” Bruce assured him quickly, no doubt noticing his panic. “We’re so sorry, Tony. If it means anything, none of us were laughing at you, we just thought it was all a joke…”

“It’s okay,” Tony tried saying. Why didn’t he check the date? This whole thing… all of those negative thoughts… if only he’d checked the date…

“It’s not,” Bucky interrupted. He reached out, placing a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “It’s really not. We’re going to have to make this up to you for a while now, okay? We really messed up, but we’re going to have to find a way to make it up to you.”

Tony just nodded, though he didn’t really think that anyone needed to ‘make up for’ anything. It was a misunderstanding, that was all. None of his teammates were _actually_ laughing at him, or the thought that he would ever be a good husband to someone like Steve. No, of course. Now he just needed… to convince himself of that.

Might not be easy…

While Tony’s head was still spinning from the realization that every one of those thoughts he’d been having earlier didn’t need to happen because he was fairly certain that his friends didn’t _actually_ think that he was going to be a horrible husband, he barely said a word because he couldn’t _find_ any words to say. Steve, who was still looking agitated and uncomfortable, seemed to recognize his uncertainty, and he wrapped an arm around his waist before telling their friends that they were going to go get some breakfast and spend some time together.

“Well that was unexpected,” Steve murmured as soon as they were in the elevator together. He kept Tony wrapped up in his arms, and Tony leaned back against his fiancé’s chest. He was right where he belonged.

“I didn’t realize it was April today,” Tony mumbled, and Steve pressed a kiss to his head.

“Even so, someone should’ve said something. Someone should’ve mentioned something. Sam never—he took everything seriously, and they _definitely_ should’ve realized something was up if they saw you reacting how I saw you reacting,” Steve pointed out, huffing angrily. Tony just smirked and turned around so that he could kiss his lover.

“Knowing that this was all one big misunderstanding is nice,” Steve said, leading Tony out of the elevator and over towards their room. Tony followed, not really caring to get breakfast right then if it meant that he could instead go snuggle in bed with Steve. “But that doesn’t mean that they’re off the hook, just because of what day it is. I _know_ you, Tony, and I could see the insecurity in your eyes. I’m not going to demand that you tell me why, but I _would_ like to hear about it, if you’ll tell me…”

The super-soldier crashed down onto their bed, rolling over to make room for Tony. He then reached out like a child who wanted to be handed something, giving Tony his best puppy-dog eyes when Tony didn’t immediately jump into bed with him.

The genius laughed. “Alright, alright. I’ll tell you eventually… but for now—I’m tired, you kept me up so long last night!”

“You weren’t complaining last night,” Steve said as Tony crawled into bed beside him. Wrapping his arms around the shorter man, Steve curled around him like a safety blanket. Just having him there made Tony feel so much better. His fiancé’s warmth just made all of his lingering doubts melt away.

“Do you think I’ll be a good husband?” Tony whispered, biting his tongue. Should he have asked that? He didn’t have time to question himself.

“Of course,” Steve assured him, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. “You’re already the best boyfriend in the world, so I have no doubts that you’ll be an excellent husband. That’s not something you ever need to worry about, Tony. I love you, and nothing’s going to ever change that.”

“Love you too,” Tony whispered as a small smile spread across his face. Steve was right, he shouldn’t be worrying about that.

“Tony, you need to stand still,” Bruce chastised, shooting Clint a thankful look when he gripped Tony’s shoulders to hold him still. The Armored Avenger glared half-heartedly at his friends as he tried to take a couple of deep breaths. He mostly ignored the way that Bruce adjusted his clothes before taking a step back.

“I’ve never liked wearing ties,” Tony admitted bitterly, though he was glad that Bruce had finally gotten it on straight. “Too much around my neck, I can already barely breathe.”

“You’ve got no reason to not breathe,” Clint spoke up, patting Tony’s back as he walked around him. Tony rolled his eyes when the archer whistled at him. “I think we’ve got you lookin’ pretty good.”

“Nope, it’s all genetic,” Tony retorted, making his teammate snort with laughter.

“Good point,” Clint said. “So, besides the whole not breathing thing, you’re feeling ready for this?”

“No,” Tony admitted quietly.

“No what?” Rhodey asked loudly as he shoved open the door, making sure to close it quickly. “Looks like they finally got you in a suit, huh?”

“What aren’t you ready for?” Bruce asked, tilting his head to the side. “We’ve double-checked everything with the event planners, everything is exactly the way that you ordered it. Everything’s running on time for once, which is enough of a surprise. We’ve got S.H.I.E.L.D. as backup both here on guard and out there in case anything goes wrong—they’ll handle everything unless the world is about to end and we _need_ to be called in, but I don’t see that happening today.”

“It’s not about…” Tony huffed angrily, trying to find the words. He felt too hot in the suit, and deep breaths really weren’t helping. “It’s not about the _things_ , it’s not about S.H.I.E.L.D. or which villain of the week is going to show up… it’s…” He sighed, struggling to choke out the words. “What if Steve’s making a mistake?”

“Making a mistake? What, by letting you have the darker suit?” Clint joked. “Or by letting you walk down the aisle first? Tony, he’s not making a mistake.”

Tony opened his mouth to argue, but he was so rudely interrupted again.

“Actually, I’m worried that _you’re_ the one making the mistake,” Bucky spoke up as he, too, joined the room. With so many people, it was starting to get a bit crowded. “Bruce, Tasha wanted to talk with you.”

“You’ll be fine,” Bruce assured Tony, gripping his shoulder and giving him a look before he scurried off to find his girlfriend.

“I mean, you do know who you’re marrying, right? Some punk kid from Brooklyn?” Bucky continued, grinning cheekily. “You still haven’t even convinced him to start wearing a _parachute_ yet.”

“That’s why I’m working on the stealth jetpacks,” Tony muttered, because _yes_ , Bucky had a point. Steve was a reckless idiot, but God did he love that reckless idiot. “But Steve’s—”

“The luckiest man on earth right now,” Bucky interrupted again. “And he asked me to send you a message. He’s been dying in the other room, not allowed to see you yet, and he just wanted you to know that he can’t wait to get to the aisle because he’ll see you at the end of it, waiting for him. Sappy punk probably said it better than that, but…”

As the super-soldier shrugged, Tony stepped forward and hugged him. “Thank you.”

He turned to look at all of his friends. “Thank you, all of you. I just—I don’t want him to regret this, and I know I’ll never regret it, but I just…”

“You don’t need to be worried anymore,” Clint said so genuinely that Tony couldn’t help but smile. “Never again, okay?”

“He loves you, man, and that’s never going to change,” Rhodey added. He glanced at his watch. “What _is_ going to change is who walks down the aisle first if you don’t get down there soon!”

Tony grinned nervously, gathering up as much courage as he could as he let Rhodey drag him over towards the other room, towards the aisle.

“You’ve got this, Tony,” Clint murmured, patting his back as he walked by. “We’ll be down there with you in a minute, but you’ve gotta go first.”

Tony nodded. Of course—he’d walk first and wait at the end of the aisle for his to-be-husband to join him. But before Steve, in his white suit, could walk down the aisle, the rest of his team would be there. While they didn’t exactly have ‘bridesmaids’ and ‘groomsmen’ as both were grooms, they had decided who would be standing by who, with four people on each side.

_You’ve got this_. Tony flashed a smile at his family, who had all wandered over to join him, before he turned and took the first couple of steps down the aisle. They’d gone for as small of a ceremony as possible, with only close friends and family allowed. Tony had always assumed if he ever got married, the wedding would just be filled with investors and employees from the company, people that he basically paid to like him. But then again, he never assumed he’d be getting married…

It wasn’t what he’d thought it would be, walking down the aisle. He’d been worried that he wouldn’t be able to breathe, that his heart would be beating too quickly and he’d end up having heart trouble. Instead, he was able to confidently stroll down to where the pastor was standing. The older man smiled at him, giving him a slight nod.

“Everything’s fine,” he whispered to Tony when he took his spot at the end of the aisle. “I know weddings can be stressful, but I have no worries about this one.”

“Thanks,” Tony replied, because man did it feel good to have other people believing that everything would work out. Just hearing it spoken aloud… it was so nice.

As he watched the door where eventually Steve would show up, Tony watched his closest friends walk down the aisle, two by two, grinning brightly. First were Rhodey and Pepper, who both gave him a hug while Pepper also kissed him on the cheek. They stood over on ‘Tony’s side,’ giving him some comfort.

Next down the aisle were Bucky and Clint, arm in arm, and Tony knew that eventually there would be another wedding, though he was unsure which set of friends would get engaged first. It was great to be able to send his teammates in pairs down the aisle with their dates. Clint hugged him tightly while Bucky patted his back, then the two stood off to the side, leaving a place for Steve to stand.

By the look of his friend’s grin, Tony was unsure who was happier about the wedding: himself or Clint.

Soon enough Bruce and Natasha were down the aisle, and Tony was glad that they’d settled on the colors red and blue. Everyone on his side was dressed in black suits with red ties or vibrant red dresses, while everyone on Steve’s side was the same except with a rich blue. Both Natasha and Pepper looked _incredible_ in their red gowns.

The only differences to their color scheme were their own ties—Tony and Steve had picked them out together since they _apparently_ couldn’t go suit shopping together, and he’d _insisted_ that they add a little flare to their suits. Tony’s tie was bright red with golden accent stripes, while Steve’s was a flashy blue with accent red and white stripes.

“Looking good, котенок,” Natasha whispered when she hugged him. There were tears in her eyes, which really surprised Tony, but he didn’t mention it.

Next were Sam and Sharon, newer members of their little Avengers family but really good friends with Steve. Sharon, of course, Tony already knew as she was somewhat of a cousin to him, though they had never very close growing up, and Sam seemed cool when Steve brought him back to the tower so Tony was always willing to make new friends. He was glad he did, since they both turned out to be great.

Once all of the ‘groomsmaids’ and groomsmen were all on either side, Tony turned his attention back to the doorway. There were only two people left, after all.

In a dark suit and a red and blue tie, Peter appeared at the end of the aisle, grinning as he held onto both a pillow with rings on it and a bag with flower petals. He looked like he was bursting with excitement as he scattered flower petals all along the aisle.

“I’ve got the rings, Mr. Stark,” he whispered cheerfully as he gave Tony a quick hug. “This is so great, everything’s so beautiful! I’m so glad you and Captain America are finally getting married.”

“Me too, kid, me too,” Tony chuckled, smirking when Happy grabbed Peter and dragged him off to the side to sit in the front row, where he’d be able to give the pastor the rings when called.

With Peter down the aisle, that left only one person…

Tony’s breath caught in his throat, and his heart skipped a few beats. There, at the end of the aisle with the softest, most caring smile on his face, was Steve. He couldn’t help but just _stare_ at his future husband in his perfectly-tailored white suit. His blue eyes popped against the white, and once again Tony was glad he’d insisted that Steve wear white.

Lord that man meant everything to him. For just a second, his insecurities crept back in, whispering _do you really deserve someone as incredible as him?_ But then Rhodey put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle, grounding squeeze, and Tony knew—he _did_ deserve someone like Steve, who was ready to give him all of the happiness in the world.

He _did_ deserve to get a happy ending, after everything he’d done through and everything he’d done to fix past mistakes.

He _did_ deserve a beautiful wedding, a loving husband, and a happily ever after with his family.

Tony couldn’t help but reach out to Steve as he approached, taking his fiancé’s hands in his. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Steve murmured, looking brighter than the sun as he smiled at Tony.

“We gather here today,” the pastor spoke up as Tony got lost in those endless skies that were Steve’s eyes, promising to have and to hold, in sickness and health, ‘till death do us part… _I do_.


End file.
